In the most recently completed Java.net poll, the Java/JVM developers who chose to participate generally anticipate stable or increased job opportunities in 2012. A total of 373 votes were cast, with the following results...

In the most recently completed Java.net poll[2], the Java/JVM developers who chose to participate generally anticipate stable or increased job opportunities in 2012. A total of 373 votes were cast, with the following results:

In 2012, job opportunities for Java/JVM developers will...

19% (72 votes) - Expand rapidly

25% (92 votes) - Increase moderately

23% (86 votes) - Remain stable

9% (33 votes) - Decline

17% (65 votes) - I don't know

7% (25 votes) - Other

So, 2/3 of the voters believe job opportunities will remain stable or increase, while only 9% expect opportunities to decline. That's a level of optimism that I don't think we've seen in a while.

For example, looking back to our March 2010 poll that asked "Is the software engineering job market improving?"[3], less than half of the voters selected one of the positive responses. Of course, the polls asked different questions, so it's a little complex trying to draw conclusions. Still, that poll was posted at a time when almost everyone had witnessed declining opportunities in the recent past. More than a quarter of the voters were still awaiting 'the promised "recovery"' or saw the situation continuing to worsen.

I have seen various articles that suggest a boom (or at least a fairly strong upward tide) is underway for software engineers. For example, there was the Dice.com (US) survey[4] that I blogged[5] about a month ago where United States recruiters indicated that finding "Java/J2EE Developers" is their top priority for 2012.

What's happening in the mobile apps arena is also pretty amazing. On April 15, 2011, the Wall Street Journal had an article titled "App Talent Pool Is Shallow: Companies Scramble for Engineers Who Can Write Software for Smartphones." (I have the clipping, but can't find an online link.)

Then there are these recent interesting articles at Forbes.com:

Venkatesh Rao, 5 December 2011 - The Rise of Developeronomics[6] (the author cites software developers as being the one "safe haven" that exists today for investors); and

This all says to me that if you're good at what you do, today can indeed be a very good time for advancing your career in software engineering. It also suggests that adding new skills that are highly in demand can significantly increase your value in the marketplace.